Internal vs External Pressure

/

How often do we blame extra work, stress, and tension on external pressures? It seems like our default for most situations, right? But what if that pressure is internal?

First of all, internal pressure isn't necessarily bad—that’s what motivates and keeps us moving forward.

But like anything else, too much internal pressure (especially applied in the wrong ways) leads us to feel stressed out and unhappy.

Often this negative internal pressure comes from a place of fear:

  • fear that you need to be perfect,

  • fear that you need to have control, or

  • fear that what you’ve already done isn’t enough.

This is stress we add to our own lives. We dictate it.

20MB Pressure tim-mossholder-655420-unsplash copy.png

So, what I want you to do is to think about the times you feel really stressed (maybe like right now) and ask yourself:

  • Are all of these things on my plate really coming from external forces that I can’t control?

  • And if so, what conversations do I need to have, with which people, to help diminish some of that pressure?

  • Or is some (or all) of the stress coming from myself? (Stress to have it perfect because you’ve got really high expectations, or you’re not saying no to something you want to, or you just want to be in control?)

Really check in with yourself and find out where that stress is coming from. When you take the time to do this, you can begin to shift your situation and start calming the chaos, from the inside out!

 

NICOLA TAGGART’S BIO:

Nicola Taggart is a personal and professional development strategist, coach, and speaker. Her brilliance is in inspiring and leading others to take ownership of their life, choices, and happiness. By learning how to slow down and redefine success and balance—from the inside out—others are empowered to experience more freedom and fulfillment in all areas of their life and shed feelings of chaos and overwhelm. Nicola is the author of the Calm the Chaos Journal and Card Deck available at Amazon, Target, and leading bookstores. Corporate clients and private clients are invited to reach out to her at www.NicolaTaggart.com.